Presentation by Helda Khasmy on Land Monopoly as the Root Cause of the Haze Disaster and People's Suffering in Indonesia - During the ILPS Commission 13 Workshop, November 14, 2015

1. Land Monopoly is the Root Cause of Haze Disaster and People’s Suffering
Speech Prepared by Helda Khasmy
Coordinator, Serikat Perempuan (SERUNI Indonesian Women Union) – Riau Indonesia
For 18 years Indonesian people’s and some neighbour countries has suffered because of haze from forest
burning without law enforcement to the performer. The absence of policy and plan has cause people suffer long
term of haze and its impact. Government action in solving and handling the victim of the haze is also really
minimum and not based on the need of the victim. Haze has caused the schools closed, influence people’s
activities, damaging the people’s work and health. Government did not provide any solution to these problems
and also can not provide secure and safe place for evacuation to let people breathe fresh air with good quality of
oxygen.
2015 is the worst haze ever, double the suffering of Indonesia People in Sumatera and Kalimantan island. This
haze happens every year and 2015 is the 18th years. It’s the same fire, more haze and more suffering to the
people yet same government will to solve it.
Now the fire point and the haze has reached wider provinces, islands and neighbour countries heavier.
Majority of this haze resulted from fire on peatland. Peatland naturally has function to absorb and saving water.
But, these peatland are dehydrated in order to be able to be planted with palm oil and wood plantation.
According to Indonesian Law, peatland with 3 meters deep or more can not used for plam oil or wood
plantation, because peatland is easy to burn if dry and affected by hot weather. Small burning will spread
rapidly.
In the fourth week of June 2015, in Riau alone noted 184 fire point on consession land of 36 plantation
companies and 72 fire point in conservation land. In the middle of October 2015, in Indonesia has found 3.226
fire points spread all over Sumatera and Kalimantan Island. At the end of October 2015, the fire spread until
Papua and Sulawesi Island. The biggest fire point located on consession areal of companies of Sinar Mas Group,
Royal Golden Eagle Group and Wilmar Group, they are big land lord in Indonesia that have millions hectare of
land consession license.
From July until October 2015, haze has become the worst disaster in Indonesia, for as long three months people
have to breathe toxic every day. Need to be underlined, air pollution for the three months is stabil in dangerous
level with the measurement PM10 above 150 psi. In Riau Provinces, on September until October 2015 the
polutan level of PM10 is between 500 to 800. In Kalimantan Island, starting from 20 October 2015, the pollutan
level of PM10 is between 3.500 to 4.000. these number is 24 times of normal level of polutan.
Because of that, 43 million Indonesian people have to breathe toxic air, 503.874 people suffer acute respiration
infection, hundreds of children have to stay in hospital and some of them ended with dead.
Children have to stop going to school because of the haze enter their school’s classes. The schools closed
without any plan on children’s education replacement. They have to stay at house with no activity and can not

2. playing outside the house. Some of their houses are also entered by the haze. Finally, children has become the
more vulnerable victim of haze.
People also lost their job and income also mobility. This especially suffered by peasant, farmer, worker, small
trader and informal sector worker. They lost their income as casual worker, while they got more burden because
they have to taking care of their children’s health and safety with lots of effort, time and costs.
Then, how is the respond of the government?
I need to make it clear here. The government aside of extinguished the fire, they are busy to “extinguished”
people’s struggle. Government effort all this time such as provide extinguisher and mask, publishing circulation
letter to prohibit people’s activities outside the house, even operation of haze handling that cost 267 billion IDR
for year 2013-2014 in Riau Province in reality does not solve even one of haze pollutan.
What is more disappointing is government more worry on their power safety rather than the safety of
vulnerable group that is children, mother, pregnat women and elderly. Commodification of haze to get foreign
aid and visit fund to various places and troops mobilisation also buying equipment is other dissapointment to
government. We are also dissapointing because there’s no fund and free services of health and education
including compensation to the victim of haze. Furthermore, the government arrests small farmer and farm
worker to cover the real performer of forest burning.
Land monopoly is the root cause of haze.
Anti genuine land reform policy in using land and forest all this time has caused haze in our air. Policies made by
government giving special rights to palm oil, pulp and paper plantation companies. These companies control
land and agricultural production, even high end politics. Debt and investment growing fast on peatland, the ratio
is 40% from total investment and debt, engange four million hectares or all peatland in Riau alone.
In the last five years, areas alocated for palm oil plantation in Indonesia rise around 35%. From 7,4 million
hectare on 2008 became 10 million hectares on 2013, which is mean 520.000 hectare rising per year. You can
imagine areas width as Bali Island changes into palm oil plantation every year. 31% of 10 million hectares of
palm oil plantation controlled by companies such as Sinar Mas Group, Salim Group, Jardine Matheson Group,
Wilmar Group and Surya Dumai Group. These companies together with other 20 business group still have 2
million hectares that has not planted yet.
At the time of haze started from July until October 2015 people’s struggle against haze has arises in various
places in Indonesia. These movement has rise and do various effort to help saving children and people of
Indonesia by doing:
1. Social services by doing health services and provide facilities, equipment and medicine necessary for the
people to survive.
2. Demand and push the government to provide services needed by the victim of haze. The demand is to
provide evacuation center for the victim especialy for vulnerable group, provide health services and
economic compensation to families of haze victim.
3. Campaign and demand the government to arrest the performer of forest burning and revoke the license
of palm oil and wood plantation that do the forest burning.

3. 4. Seeking international support for the campaign.
This time, because of the rain season, probably the haze already slight. But we don’t want to have another haze
next year. That’s why we still doing campaign on this. What we demand now to Jokowi Administration are:
1. Provide free medical assistance to all victims unconditionally because the haze has long term impact
2. Give compensation to all victim of haze because of their losts and burden during the haze disaster
3. Prosecute all corporation behind the forest fire, stop new consession and review the existing consession
of big monoculture plantation
4. Create mitigation plan that is suitable and serving the people, not corporate.
We are seeking your support to this campaign. We need you to support us by signing our petition, posting
photos with hashtag to social media and become part of fact finding mission that we really want to have.
Thank you very much to your attention.
Long live international solidaity!